Scarlet Ammo Preparation緋弾の準備
by Roriko Kojima
Summary: Maria, a normal teenager except her sister's a Butei and Aria H Kanzaki is her friend. With their persistence she's suddenly forced to become a Butei herself to enhance her abilities. Only problem is she has no idea how to fight Her life spirals out of control as she starts running into odd students and being easily romanced. Story is set before the main plot PLZ READ AND COMMENT!
1. 深紅目をした妖精

深紅目をした妖精

Scarlet Eyed Fairy

She couldn't believe she was doing this. How in the world did her friend Aria and sister Meiko, persuade her into entering Tokyo Butei High School? She remembered her conversation with Aria while she was staying in London.

"I don't want your enriched synesthesia (1) abilities to be wasted on nothing. They need to develop, and what better way than becoming a Butei!" Aria had exclaimed.

"But unlike you and Meiko, I'm not a gun wielder." Maria had protested.

"Then just use a sword, it's must more trustworthy than a gun anyway."

"That's not what I mean. I'm no fighter."

"Maybe, but you used to take lessons at the dojo for a while, and you're highly athletic; you'll excel in no time!" she declared proudly for her friend.

"I appreciate your confidence from me Aria, but—"Aria cut her off.

"If you appreciate my confidence in you, then you, Maria Fujiwara, will listen to me and go become a Butei." She said firmly, her camellia red eyes blazing. Maria, now influenced by the fiery red aura she saw glow around Aria, nodded.

"I'll make you proud." She promised self-assuredly. Aria smiled.

"I know you will."

Now, Aria was accompanying Maria on her car ride to school with Meiko as their driver. They zoomed past drivers on the Rainbow Bridge. The azure waters shimmered in the morning sunlight it basked in. Maria inhaled deeply and leaned back, listening to the sounds of boats and vehicles passing by. That was all she could do to relieve herself of her anxiety. She then turned to her strawberry blonde friend.

"Aria, are you sure you can't just transfer out of the European Butei School?" she pleaded.

"I would if I could but I can't." Aria replied.

"Calm down, it's just like any first day of high school." Meiko attempted to soothe.

"Easy for you to say." Maria said, hugging her abdomen to relieve the butterflies that fluttered around.

"Don't worry, no students are ever assigned to kill anyone, that's what Butei Law Article Section 9 is for; regardless of the situation a Butei cannot kill." Aria recited.

"Well, that helped a little I guess." Maria said as she sunk in her seat. Meiko peered at her through the driver mirror. She chuckled to herself; seeing _a girl who's so laid back to anxious sure is odd. _

Within another few minutes they had view of the man-made island where the Butei School resided in. It was a fairly large city. The sidewalks were filled with people commuting to work or the school. Chills ran down Maria's spine as she caught view of the school.

"Alright we're here." Aria said, grabbing Maria by the arm and practically dragging her out of the car. Meiko opened the trunk and got out the luggage bags.

"C'mon Maria, we gotta get to the head office to get your schedule and dorm assignment."

As the trio strolled through the hallways, Meiko noticed a close friend of hers walking by. It was a boy who had light brown hair and wispy bangs that hung over his face and hazel eyes.

"Hey Tatsuki!" she called out. The boy smiled back.

"Morning Mei-chan." He greeted. "Who're your friends?" he asked.

"This is Aria Kanzaki and the other's Maria." She introduced.

"Ah, so you're Mei-chan's little sister. I'm Tatsuki Yoshikuni."

Maria made a small bow. "Nice to meet you." She said in return. "Well let's get this over with." She said, gripping her luggage bag handle. Tatsuki halted her.

"Wait a sec, you can't wear that." He noted. She gawked and realized that she was still wearing the white collared shirt, dark cardigan and skirt of her old uniform.

As Meiko sorted out the paperwork of her little sister's transfer and placement, Aria accompanied Maria to change into the new uniform. It was bold crimson and white. She slipped into it and then pulled up her black sock that had a solid white stripe.

"So how does it look?" she asked, showing it off.

"It looks nice, but just one more thing." Aria said, reaching for something in her pocket. She parted two sections of her friend's dark purplish hair and tied them with ribbons, creating even pigtails. She looked like an exact replica of her sister except for height, but not so much at the moment.

"You and I are quite alike; same age, both short, same ending sounds in our names, and now twin tails. Now I don't want your brains being scattered by a bullet or dying in a gutter okay. So pay attention." She warned. Maria shivered and then flailed her arms frantically with a panic stricken face.

"That's really not helping me at all Aria!" she shouted. Aria just chuckled.

Seeing that Maria was all set, Aria bid her friend farewell and took the bus to the airport. Meiko was supposed to be helping her sister check out the different divisions, but unfortunately she was unable to, so she decided to leave her in the hands of one of her close friends; Kinichi Tohyama. The first division they were to see was the safest and most uneventful one, Inquesta.

"Morning Kinichi-san." Meiko greeted.

"Hi Fujiwara-san." He greeted back.

"Glad to see you wearing something else besides that Kana outfit." She joked.

"Shut up." He said with a chuckle. "So this is your sister right?"

"Yup, so you better start calling me Mei-chan, since there'll be two Fujiwaras."

"In your dreams." He scoffed.

"Anyways just look out for her okay." Meiko said as she left.

"Well let's move it kid." He said. Suddenly then heard a light voice scream "Kin-kun!" he grabbed Maria by the wrist.

"Hurry!" he said frantically.

"W-why?" she asked. Suddenly she felt someone pounce on her, causing her to stumble and fall, and then heard the sound of bubbly laughter. From the corner of her she saw the girl on her back was a girl with slightly curly blond hair.

"Good morning Kin-kun!" the girl greeted. He sighed.

"Morning Mine-san." He greeted unenthusiastically.

"Huh, what's with that attitude; it's alright to call Riko, Riko-chan." She said leeringly. "So who's this cute girl your with?" she asked, hugging Maria who was still underneath her. "She looks kinda like Mei-chan; don't tell me this sweetie is your love child?"

He blushed a bit. "Don't be stupid; even if we did there's no way she'd be your age by now. Anyways she's Meiko-san's sister Maria."

"Ah so you're her sister; no wonder you're as cute as her! I'm Riko Mine, but of course you can just call me Riko-chan." She introduced, leaning in close. Maria blushed a bit.

"Uh… okay, I'm Maria Fujiwara… can you get off me now?" she requested.

"Oh but you're so cuddly! I wish you could be a stuffed animal that I could have in my room!" Riko was suddenly scooped up by Kinichi.

"You're really being annoying Mine, now get to class!" he yelled. Maria slowly got off the ground and dusted off her skirt.

"What was that all about?"

"She's first year student Riko Mine in Inquesta. Most of the guys in this unit call her the Big Breasted Loli, That's typical behavior for her." He explained bluntly.

"Then in that case I'd rather not join Inquesta." She said in a sickly voice.

"Good idea; now I think we should check out the Sniping Division."

###

**(1) A neurological condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. Maria's synesthesia causes her to see sounds as sparks of color and auras as colors**


	2. 彼女目標を逃しことがない少女

彼女目標を逃しことがない少女

The Girl who Never Missed her Target

Maria, led by Kinichi, made their way to the Sniper training grounds. There she saw students practicing their shooting at disks that were launched up in the air by machines. She then spotted a girl sitting solely by herself, ammo scattered about on the floor around her. Her short hair was light turquoise and her ears were covered by a pair of bright orange headphones. In her hand was a pair of forceps that held a single bullet. Her dull amber eyes studied them intently. She then placed the single ammo in a cartridge that held only two rounds. While Kinichi talked to the instructor Nangou, Maria snuck off silently towards the girl and observed her. The snipe girl caught her and stared right back.

"S-sorry to bother you." Maria apologized falteringly. The girl said nothing in reply. "So what're you doing?"

"Loading ammo." She replied emotionlessly. She saw how curious Maria looked so she placed her Dragunov Sniper Rifle in her palms. She ran her hands across the smooth cool black metal. Maria was about to speak but her mouth was covered by the other's hand.

"Please refrain from breathing near it." she requested taciturnly.

"Huh?"

"Any loose water particles might interfere with the trajectory." She explained. She then pointed at a small machine that was about ten meters away from them. Maria gawked until she saw a student turn on one of the machines. It launched a white and red disk into the air. She then nodded and skipped over to the machine. She pressed the dark blue button and it launched one of the disks in the air. The snipe student positioned herself, her finger ready on the trigger

"I am… a single bullet." She whispered to herself.

As soon as she was in target, she pulled back quicker than the blink of an eye. The tiny metal projectile shot forth like a rocket and shattered the disk into shards. _What a marksman!_ Maria thought to herself as she stared. She had shot a perfect bull's-eye.

"Whoa…" she whispered, astonished. She then felt a tap on her shoulder. Maria turned around and saw the silent sniper place the rifle in her hands. She showed her the correct way to hold it while shooting and then told her to go back to the shooting distance. Maria readied herself as she saw the disk toss up high in the air. Her synesthesia came into play. All the living beings gave off their unique colorful auras while everything else, including the disk, turned every shade in the grayscale. She took a deep breath and looked through the sights and pulled back on the trigger. The popping sound of a gun going off wasn't a sound that Maria was fond of, even if she did have an S ranked Butei for a sister. When it went off it felt like it was strongly pushing back, starling her and interfering with her shot.

Instead of the perfect bulls-eye like she had hoped for, she had only cracked off a chunk from the disk. She sighed, disappointed yet relieved at the same time. She was fortunate enough to have at least hit the target. Kinichi turned around, and then scowled when he saw that Maria did not stay put like he told her to.

"Dammit." He cursed under his breath. Nangou chuckled.

"Eh let her slide; she kinda reminds me of Meiko."

Maria gently settled the sniper gun on the ground and got back up.

"You're skills with a rifle are amateur at best, but your shooting seemed fine for someone who lacks proper knowledge of a rifle." She commented.

"She's right." They heard Nangou say. "I see you've met Reki, Snipe's top student."

"It's nice to meet you two, I'm Maria Fujiwara." She said as politely as possible.

"Nangou-sensei, is it alright if I leave early to accompany Tohyama-senpai and train this girl?" Reki asked suddenly.

"Uh, sure you can." He replied, confused. Maria was just as confused as him. She had only known the Reki for a few minutes and already she wanted to become her mentor? It seems like there's no normal student in a Butei High school, Maria thought.

Before they continued touring the other divisions, Reki decided to give Maria quick basic lessons on using firearms. Kinichi had given her a simple black Glock-VBR 7.92 pistol it was police standard and the simplest he could get his hands on. As she was about to begin loading 9mm into the magazines, she saw that Reki was staring at her. She opened the box of bullets when Reki grabbed her hand.

"Please use these." She requested, handing her the pair of forceps she had earlier.

"Um, okay if you say so." Maria replied. She used the forceps, picked up a single bullet and dropped it into the magazine.

"So what're you listening to?" she asked casually, breaking the awkward silence that Reki had created. With no word she took of one of the small loudspeakers and rested her chin on Maria's shoulders, allowing her to hear. What she heard wasn't music, but what sounded like quiet gusts of wind blowing through a forest.

"It sounds peaceful." She commented.

"Are you related to Meiko-senpai?" Reki asked. Maria nodded. "When you were shooting you're eyes glowed red for the moment."

"I have synesthetic abilities; when I activate them eyes glow red and I can see all sorts of aura colors." She explained.

"Thanks for mentioning that." Interjected Kinichi. "Remind me that we have to check out SSR Department, after we make a stop at Assault first and see Kinji."

"What's SSR?" Maria asked.

"I'll explain it to you later."


	3. 深紅ヒステリー

深紅ヒステリー

Scarlet Hysteria

"So what does Assault do?" Maria asked as she and Kinichi headed to the Assault grounds.

"Just like its name intends; Assault handles the tough stuff, that's where all the action is." He replied.

"Too bad Reki had to go back to Snipe. Anyways Meiko's in the Assault unit?"

"Yeah and so is me and my brother Kinji."

"You've got a brother?"

"Yeah, he's about the same age as you; but he's not too fond of girls though." He said. She gawked at him.

"Huh why?" she inquired.

"Well I can't tell you why; it's kind of a secret." he explained. She kept her mouth shut and decided not to pry.

"So is Assault really dangerous?" she asked hesitatingly. Kinichi scoffed.

"What do you think?" he retorted. "But it isn't too bad; only three students usually never make it to graduation."

She shivered at the reply. "What?!"

Kinichi chuckled at her panic stricken expression and shivering. "I never would've thought that a person related to Meiko would be this scared of anything, especially danger. There's just one other thing besides the death rate." He paused.

"Well what is it?" she questioned.

"It's the instructor for that class, Ranbyou-sensei."

"Ranbyou?" she repeated.

"She's a bit of a wild one. The kind that you don't wanna piss off." He warned. Maria gulped. They headed into the indoor training facility. There they saw several students shooting at life size targets and doing sparring practice. They searched around and saw Kinji and Meiko fighting each other for practice.

Because she was an older, more experienced S rank Butei, she easily got the upper hand against Kinji, freshmen. She wielded a katana with a red hilt in her hand and her opponent wielded a hand gun. Kinji fired several discharges which were easily blocked by her shining blade, except one bullet managed to strike her shoulder. Meiko's pace slowed down and she gripped her shoulder. Maria made an attempt to move forward but Kinichi stopped her.

"Don't worry about your sister. All of our uniforms are bullet proof so she's not really injured." He eased. She looked back at the fight and saw that her sister got back up and continued fighting. Maria sighed with relief. Meiko's blade locked with Kinji's pistol.

"Nice shot Ki-kun, you really got me there!" she commended, her brown eyes blazing from the excitement of fighting.

"Thanks for the praise Fujiwara-senpai, but I'd respect you more if you didn't call me by that pet name." he retorted, pushing back her blade.

"Sure, if you can beat me!"

Meiko countered by striking the fun out of his hand, rendering him unarmed. She then pulled out her shiny silver Colt SAA Revolver and readied her shot.

"Hey Meiko!" Kinichi bellowed, causing her to miss her shot.

"Dammit Kinichi!" she shouted with frustration. He started laughing at her. "Oh go to hell Kinichi." She cursed under her breath.

"Sorry to interrupt." He apologized glibly.

"Hi Nii-sama." Kinji greeted happily. Suddenly they all heard rapid gunfire that drowned out the rest. Everyone was dead silent as the footsteps neared.

"What the hell is with all this racket?!" a woman yelled. Maria saw that it was a woman somewhere around her late twenties with short black brown hair. Her fierce green eyes shot a glare at everyone. It was the feared instructor Ranbyou. She suddenly pointed at Maria.

"You, what are you doing here? You're not in this unit!" she scolded. She stood silent until she felt Kinichi place his hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry Ranbyou-sensei; she's a new student I'm showing her around." He explained.

"Shut it Tohyama, I'm not asking you." Ranbyou snapped. "You have a mouth now speak!"

"I'm Maria Fujiwara." Maria introduced. The instructor smirked.

"Ah so your Meiko's sister; in that case let's see if she passed along any usable traits."

Out of nowhere she leapt up and kicked Maria in the shoulder with such power that she fell and tumbled across the floor.

"W-what was that for?!" she asked, picking herself up.

"You transferred during the middle of the semester; everyone's already ahead so you need to catch up!" Ranbyou shouted, charging at her with speed. Maria barrel rolled out of the way and raised her arms to shield her from Ranbyou's strike. Maria swung her foot and struck her calf hard enough for her to stumble a bit.

"Not bad little girl, looks like Meiko passed some fighting after all." She commented. "Let's see you take this!" she suddenly had a wooden sword in her hand and began lashing out. Spinning and ducking, Maria tried her best to dodge them. Kinji watched as the girl helplessly tried to evade the blows.

"Fujiwara-senpai that's your sister go help her!" he yelled. She smiled.

"Oh yeah you're right." She then grabbed one of the wooden training swords.

"Maria catch!" she shouted, tossing the sword in the air. Maria took a few steps back and caught it perfectly. Kinji frowned.

"Uh, that's not what I meant."

"Why won't you go fight?" Kinichi asked.

"That 'Human Bunker Buster' picked a fight with Maria not me. Besides, I know when she'll really need my help." Meiko replied. Kinichi palmed his forhead.

"I can never figure you out." He said.

Meiko did have a point though. Because of her dojo practice, Maria was able to fend herself from Ranbyou's wild movements. Still, Kinji didn't feel right just watching the freshman girl fight like that. Maria slowly gained advantage and was able to strike back, pushing Ranbyou on the defensive. However, she underestimated her opponent and her weapon was knocked out of her hand.

"Ha!" she laughed triumphantly. She then shouted one of her phrases that the class was familiar of. "Go die!"

All of the sudden she felt herself wrapped in someone's arms. She looked up and saw that it was Kinichi's younger brother Kinji. In his hand was his pistol and it was pointed straight at Ranbyou. He turned off the safety and fired a warning shot that zoomed by her head.

"My apologies Ranbyou-sensei." He lamented sternly. She bared her fangs, scowled and growled.

"You bastard…"

"You ought to know when to back off. I'm sure that you don't wanna be discharged again." Kinji warned. She chuckled.

"You're either pretty stupid or pretty bold. I can respect that." She retorted. "Welcome to Assault." She properly greeted at last.

"Are you alright?" Kinji asked Maria, who was still in his arms. She looked up at him and blushed. When she first encountered him she didn't get a good look, but now that she was so close, she found him pretty cute. He looked kind of like Kinichi except that his eyes were rich brown instead of dark green.

"Uh, yeah; thank you." She acknowledged.


	4. 複数愛情

複数愛情

Multiple Affection

Kinji's and Maria's eyes were locked in an intense gaze. She looked really adorable; maybe even cuter than Meiko or Shirayuki. He blushed a bit and immediately turned his head; a precaution in case his special conditions were activated.

"W-well glad you're alright." He replied uneasily quickly taking her hands off her.

"Nice one Kinji, never saw you like that." His brother praised.

"Thank you Nii-san." He acknowledged.

"Same goes for you." Kinichi said to Maria. "Now that you two have gotten acquainted better, I'll leave her in your hands for now Kinji."

"H-hey wait! You can't just leave her with me!" he protested. "Meiko-senpai say something!" he shouted. She just smiled.

"Get along you two." She replied teasingly, leaving the training ground. Kinji mumbled to himself. The last thing he wanted to do was lead one of the many abnormal girls of the Butei High School.

"Uh, excuse me…" Maria asked softly. He turned around and forced a smile.

"Where would you like to go next?" he asked.

"Um, the SSR department I guess." She replied. He stopped breathing when he heard her. He knew what would happen if Shirayuki stumbled upon him with another girl. He couldn't risk Maria's life twice.

"Actually I have a friend in the Logistics; we'll check that out instead." he persuaded.

"Hey Kinji ready to go?" they heard Kinji's friend Ryou ask.

"Yeah." Kinji replied.

"Who's the pretty girl?" Ryou asked, gesturing to Maria. Her cheeks flushed light pink at the comment from the handsome young boy.

"She's Meiko's sister Maria, I'm taking her with us." He replied. Ryou gently grabbed her hand and shook it gently.

"It's nice to meet you; I'm Ryou Shiranui." He introduced. Maria wanted to say something, but the words were stuck in her throat and her face flushed rosy pink.

"Well I'll go get my stuff and we can go." He said, heading into the locker room. Kinji glanced over at Maria and gawked at her.

"Are you alright?" he asked. She snapped out of her daze.

"Of course!" she assured.

"Don't tell me you're enamored with Shiranui-san." Kinji teased. Maria blushed more and scowled.

"Sh-shut it; of course I'm not!" she protested. He chuckled softly.

"You sure can go tsundere mode when you want to. But I can understand the attraction; Shiranui is always popular with girls. Ironic how he doesn't have a girlfriend though."

###

After they got their stuff together, they headed to the Logistics Department. That unit was in charge of vehicles and transportation. The students were taking apart mechanics and creating new ones. They also had a large open track similar to a P.E. track. That was where they practiced driving all sorts of vehicles. When they arrived they saw Kinji's and Shiranui's friend Gouki Mutou riding what looked like the mix of a Yamaha motorbike with wheels of tank. He executed a few 360 spins before coming to a screeching halt. Tire tracks marked the practice course. Gouki threw off his helmet and rushed excitedly to his friends.

"Hey did you guys see that?!" his excitement died down a bit when he glanced over at Maria. "Who's the little girl?" he asked. He studied her face and smiled.

"You're related to Fujiwara-senpai right? 'Cause you look a lot like her."

"Wow you're a good guesser Mutou-san." Interjected Kinji.

"We're showing Maria-san around the school." said Ryou.

"Oh c'mon it'll be better to explore the city than the school, you wanna go for a ride?" Gouki offered.

"Hey I'm supposed to keep Maria-san in one piece!" Kinji protested.

"It'll just be a mile drive around Academy Island, what do you say Maria-san?"

"Uh sure, that'll be alright." She replied hesitatingly. Gouki smiled and tossed her a light blue helmet for her to wear. He then scooted forward so she could sit on the motorbike.

"Keep her safe Mutou-san or else." Kinji warned.

"Ooh you're so scary Tohyama-kun. Don't worry." He assured. Gouki revved up the engines; it roared loudly, smoke gassing out.

"Let's go!" he yelled, speeding off of the track course and into the main streets outside of school. She held on tight to his coat, gripping so she wouldn't fall to her doom. She wrapped her arms around his waist, shut her eyes and buried her face. She could feel the cold wind blowing through the locks of her purple black ponytails. She opened up an eye and saw buildings and other vehicles zooming by them so quickly that they looked nothing but mere motion blurs. Her heart raced with fear. Sensing her anxiety, Gouki smiled and came to a shrieking stop through intersections. Cars were forced to come to a halt and angry commuters honked their horns at them. Maria screamed as the bike slowed down, swerving uncontrollably. Amazingly, they managed to safely park near the sidewalk. Gouki rushed to take off his helmet and shook his spiky black hair.

"That was fun!" he said. He looked and saw her sickly expression. She looked like she was going to collapse. He laughed.

"You okay?" he asked. She held her stomach and shook her head no; still wearing her sickly expression. Uneasily she frowned and glared up at him.

"What do you think?"

He laughed some more. "How about I treat you to a little snack." He offered. There was a small café nearby. She took him up on his offer, pulled off her helmet and walked with him.

###

After eating a small sweet parfait, Maria had soon got over the churning feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Feeling better now?" Gouki asked her.

"Yup, much better; but try not to speed, this time I know I'm going to throw up." She joshed.

"Can do Miss." He agreed jokingly, giving her a playful salute. They put on their helmets and hopped on the bikes. Gouki saw that they were going to arrive later than he promised, so he decided to drive through a shortcut where there wasn't a lot of traffic. Maria relaxed a bit. However, it was soon interrupted when they heard a technical sounding male voice.

"This bike has a bomb implanted in the engine." It said. They both were panic stricken. Gouki knew this meant one thing; The Butei Killer.


	5. 致死遭遇

致死遭遇

Deadly Encounter

The male computerized voice's words rang in Maria's ears. "This bike has a bomb implanted in the engine." It said. _This can't be happening _she denied. This was real life, not some spy movie. However, as she thought it over, a school training kids to become perfect assassins isn't quite normal either.

"Dammit, we're his next target." She heard Gouki say nervously.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"It's the famed Butei Killer. He's recently been aiming indiscriminately at all Butei students. Fortunately, he's never killed any of his targets, but I'm not taking that chance!" he said, speeding up the motorbike. She held on tight.

"Why didn't any of you guys mention this?!" she questioned furiously.

"We didn't feel it was important." He replied.

"You thought a murderer targeting students wasn't important enough for me to know?!" she screamed.

"Well when you put it that way it sounds awfully stupid!" he yelled back. From the corner of their eyes they saw a couple of segways roll up, mounted on them were lethal large UZI guns. Maria's eyes widened with fear as they heard the voice again.

"If you slow down a significant amount, or stop the motorbike, it will detonate immediately." it warned.

"Mutou-san, we can't go back to the school." She said.

"Huh?!"

"We can't risk letting this thing detonate there where there's students." She reasoned. Gouki looked down under the bike and searched for the bomb.

"What are you doing Mutou-san?" Maria asked.

"Help me search for the bomb." He said. She did as she was told and scanned under. Maria then remembered the pocket knife that Aria had given to her when they were little. It was a dull knife, meant to be a keepsake, but Maria saw no better time to use it than now. She felt around and started using the knife to pick at the parts.

"What're you doing?" he asked.

"The bomb isn't on the surface; it must be underneath all this." She replied. She then looked over her shoulder and saw the segways. She faced the barrel of the deadly weapons and froze in fear. Gouki immediately got up and fired at it. He managed to strike down one, but more came to replace it. They showed no mercy and began rapidly firing a barrage of bullets at them. The motorcycle swerved wildly as he tried to dodge the salvo of ammo. Maria held tight to the bike for dear life.

"What the hell are you doing?!" she screamed.

"Sorry! It's kinda hard to maneuver while shooting!"

Maria inhaled, trying to calm her nerves. She knew it wouldn't help if she panicked. Her synesthesia abilities activated, trying to use them as a makeshift heat detector. Luckily, the detonator was a thermal one, so it was easy to spot. She began unscrewing the bolts, letting the sheet of metal drop. She finally had a view of the explosive.

"I found the bomb!" she reported.

"Well that's good, 'cause I just ran out of ammo." He said uneasily.

"You've gotta be kidding me." she said with a mixture of worry and anger. Though it wasn't because he was foolish enough to not supply enough bullets in the pistol, but his Colt Python revolver had a very small loading capacity, and to top it all off it couldn't equip a suppressor. That's why he was the only student, or rather only Butei, who had a gun like that.

"It's okay I'll take it from here, can you disarm it?" she asked.

"I'll try."

She took the steering and began firing. For a novice with a gun, she had precise aiming, but more just kept coming. She then noticed one of the segways, aim the rifle downwards. Snatching up Gouki but his white collar, she pulled him up, rescuing him. Luckily, it didn't hit the bomb, but it did hit a fatal place. Oil started leaking out.

"Oh no." Gouki said in fear.

"What happened?" she questioned.

"The bike's leaking oil, I'm afraid our ride's gonna give out soon." He reported.

"Dammit." She cursed under her breath. Gouki pulled out his cellphone in his pocket and dialed the phone number for the school; specifically the one of the students of the Connect Unit.

"We need back up! First year Gouki Mutou reporting a Butei Killer attack; First year Maria Fujiwara's here with me." he reported speedily.

"State your location." Misaki Nakasochira, one of the clearest operators of Connect, asked. Before he could give their location, a bullet struck his hand, knocking away his cellphone.

###

Meanwhile, the school had gotten their call, prompting Kinji and Maria to head to the Connect facility.

"What happen to their call?" Meiko questioned frantically, nearly shaking down the operator.

"The connection's dead." He replied.

"Don't worry," Misaki's voice came clearly through the intercom. "I managed to trace the location of his call; there on an unused rode near the main highway that enters Rainbow Bridge."

"We're sending the information to Medica and Ambulace right now. Meiko-senpai, Tohyama-kun, make sure Assault escorts those units immediately." ordered the operator.

"Got it." Meiko said with a nod of her head. She locked and loaded her gun swiftly, turned off the safety and slid it back in her holster.

###

"What do we do now?" Maria asked. "Any suggestions?"

"The way I see it, we've got only two options; attempt to disarm the bomb with the risk of getting blown to pieces, or tumble that steep hill and plummet to the ground." He replied.

"I'm not liking those odds."

She looked back. There were still too many of the armed segways and both of them were out of ammo. The fuel was running dangerously low from the speed they were going at. She grabbed Gouki by the wrist.

"Let's go." She said confidently. He smiled and grabbed her hand.

"On the count of three okay." Gouki said. Maria nodded.

"One." She counted nervously, though obviously trying to hide it.

"Two." He counted off next.

"Three!" they yelled together leaping off the bike, which began to slow down. They jumped off the rusty safety railings of the freeway and in a few seconds the motorcycle exploded into a million blazing pieces. She could feel the engulfing heat and the stale smell of smoke. She was wrapped in Gouki's arms as they fell. All of the sudden they weren't plummeting uncontrollably fast; it felt like they were drifting. She looked up and saw a yellow and red striped parachute. Maria turned her head towards Gouki who wore a grin on his face.

"See, I'm not as reckless and wild as I seem." He said jokingly. She smiled back, but as the wind floated them upwards, they saw the guns and they fired relentlessly, pumping holes into the parachute. Maria closed her eyes and started to scream in unison with Gouki as they fell.


	6. 致命引力

致命引力

Deadly Attraction

As they rapidly began plunging to the ground, the segways continued shooting until out of nowhere they were shot themselves. The Butei reinforcements had arrived. Gouki, still holding a fearing Maria in his arms, tried to maneuver their landing. He pumped his feet forward, managing to move them close to the coarse rocky side of the steep hill. Clouds of dirt were kicked up as they skidded uncontrollably down. He held tight but inevitably he released her accidently. He stretched his arm out, trying to reach her, but a lonely branch had snagged his parachute, causing him to get stuck and fall. Her petite figure tumbled and rolled with great pace away from her companion. All she could hear were dull thuds repeating swiftly; her head kept banging against the hill as she fell. After a few dozen more rolls she finally came to a halt on a few patches of sandy dirt and soft grass. Her head throbbed and pounded relentlessly. Everything seemed to spin and blur lazily about. She could feel something drip from the crown of her head. The rusty taste of blood dripped against her lips. The last thing she heard were the fading sounds of sirens as she drifted away into unconsciousness.

Medica was rushing to get Gouki who had fallen, leaving Assault to deal with the few remaining segways. Meanwhile Ambulace scrambled to find Maria. Tooru Sayonaki, was the instructor of the Ambulace unit, and had hurried once he got the emergency call. He scanned the area and noticed a little body lying prone on the ground. It was a young girl, wearing the uniform of a Butei that was sullied by light brown dirt and torn slightly. Her hair that was tied neatly in ponytails had come undone and was mangled about her face. He dashed down the dirt hill to her. He surveyed her injuries; she had minor bleeding on her head, scrapes and cuts on her knees and knuckles. On the left side of her forehead was a purple blue bruise, most likely from tumbling head first. He tucked in the stray locks behind her ear and then pulled out his communicator in his pocket.

"Ambulace, I found the other Butei, she needs immediate aid, hurry!" he ordered.

"Right away Sayonaki-sensei." reported an Ambulace Butei. He then sighed and called Meiko.

"Meiko-san, I've found your sister, you should come here." He said.

"Alright." She replied, her voice sounding shaky and soft.

###

Meiko was waiting anxiously outside Maria's infirmary room back at the high school. For once in her life she felt pure fear and angst. Trying to distract her from her terror, she headed into Gouki's room, where Kinji, Tatsuki and Ryou were keeping him company. Out of nowhere she snatched him up by his light teal hospital robes and shook him up slightly.

"You stupid bastard!" she yelled. "What the hell were you thinking?!" Tatsuki held her back gently by the wrists.

"Calm down Mei-chan. It isn't Mutou-san's fault you know that. It was the Butei Killer." Tatsuki soothed as best as he could. She inhaled and regained composure.

"I'm sorry Mutou-san." She lamented.

"It's okay Fujiwara-senpai." Gouki said. "How's Maria doing?" he asked.

"The Ambulace instructor, Sayonaki-sensei said that she was recovering and doing much better. But the students in that unit told me I can't see her yet." Meiko replied.

###

Meanwhile, Sayonaki made his way past the female students that eagerly wanted to see him, and into Maria's infirmary room. She was still fast asleep; small bandages caring for her scrapes and cuts. Around her head was a bandage that had stopped the bleeding, though a dark red blotch was clearly visible. He looked at her medical records that were attached to a clipboard. One detail stuck out. She had synesthesia. _What an interesting trait _he thought to himself. He then heard her starting to wake up. Her eyes fluttered and slowly opened. When she woke she saw a friendly face staring above her.

"How are you feeling Miss?" he asked her. She looked around, her vision a bit obscured.

"W-what happened?" she asked her voice hoarse and weak.

"You fell down the hill really badly. You really scared us." He replied. She struggled to sit up. Sayonaki propped a pillow behind her.

"I'm sorry that I had to depend on you guys." She lamented. Sayonaki rested a consoling hand upon her shoulder and grinned.

"It's alright, Butei are supposed to rely on their comrades sometimes." He comforted. "Now, do you mind mentioning to me your name Miss?"

"Oh yeah I forgot. I'm Maria Fujiwara I just transferred here as a first year." She introduced.

"Well it's nice to meet you Maria-chan." Sayonaki said amiably and charmingly. Her cheeks blushed a bit.

###

After performing a final checkup, Sayonaki helped Maria fill out the paperwork and she was discharged from the hospital. As soon as she got out, her sister and companions were eagerly waiting for her outside. Meiko rushed in her arms and embraced her tightly. Maria hugged her back.

"I-I'm glad to see you too Onee-chan." She said. She suddenly felt Meiko shaking, something that she's never seen or felt Meiko doing. "What's wrong; is something wrong?"

Meiko finally released her younger sister from her tight embrace and wiped the forming tears in her eyes. As she rubbed them she retorted.

"What, any person would be like this if they thought their sister died."

All Maria could do was smile. That was like her as usual. Before leaving she went to go see Sayonaki.

"I just wanted to thank you, um…" she didn't get his name.

"I'm Tooru Sayonaki, instructor of Ambulace." He introduced. "And you're welcome."

"With your permission, I'd like to join the Ambulace unit." She asked timidly. He beamed a smile.

"Of course; be at the Ambulace quarters in the morning."

"Thank Sayonaki-sensei." She acknowledged. He smirked as she left. _All too easy_ he thought deviously.


End file.
